Dietary fiber and its labeling requirements in food labels

Although dietary fiber is not a core nutrient that must be marked in the nutrient composition table, as a low-energy substance, it helps maintain normal intestinal function and plays an important role in human health, so more and more consumers are beginning to pay attention to food.

What is dietary fiber

According to the requirements in "Basic Terms of Food Nutrition" (GB/Z 21922-2008), dietary fiber refers to the polymer of naturally occurring, extracted or synthesized carbohydrates in plants, the degree of polymerization of which is DP ≥ 3 and cannot be used by the human body.

Dietary fiber can be divided into soluble dietary fiber and insoluble dietary fiber

common soluble dietary fiber

Soluble dietary fibers that often appear in ingredient lists in prepackaged foods are fructooligosaccharides and galactooligosaccharides

Fructooligosaccharides can be used as both food nutrition fortifiers and common food raw materials.

Galacto-oligosaccharides Galacto-oligosaccharides can be used as both new food raw materials and food nutrition fortifiers

In addition, there are currently clear ingredients that can provide a source of dietary fiber: isomaltose, inulin, polyfructose, polydextrose, xylo-oligosaccharide, beta-glucan (derived from oat), resistance Dextrin,

How to label

How to mark dietary fiber on the label Dietary fiber is a non-core nutrient, and enterprises can choose to mark it according to their needs

If additional soluble dietary fiber is added to the product, it can also be declared in the form of dietary fiber monomer, such as dietary fiber (calculated as polyfructose) or dietary fiber (calculated as polyfructose and inulin), at this time, the nutritional composition table should be The content of soluble dietary fiber monomers in the final product, not the added amount

Does dietary fiber participate in energy calculation? The energy conversion coefficient of dietary fiber is 8 kJ/g, including the dietary fiber contained in the product itself and the monomer components of other dietary fibers, such as indigestible oligosaccharides, indigestible starch, resistance Dextrin,

How to claim dietary fiber Content claims of dietary fiber shall meet the requirements of GB 28050, the total amount of dietary fiber (or soluble dietary fiber, insoluble dietary fiber or monomer components) ≥ 3 g/100 g (solid) (or ≥ 1.

How to make functional claims for dietary fiber When dietary fiber meets one of the conditions of content claim or comparative claim, functional claim can be made

Can dietary fiber be quantitatively labeled? Dietary fiber is not only a nutrient that occurs naturally in food, but also can be added to finished products through food raw materials (such as fructooligosaccharides)